Summary:
The Genesee School District serves approximately 693 students in grades PK-12 across just two schools—Genesee High School (grades 6-12) and Haas Elementary School (grades PK-5)—in a predominantly low-income area where 70-77% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For parents comparing the two schools, Genesee High School is the relative bright spot, recently improving from a 1-star to a 2-star rating and climbing to the 40th percentile statewide. Its 11th graders actually scored above the state average on SAT Reading/Writing (53.2% vs. 52.1%), and social studies proficiency (40.4%) is close to the state norm. However, math remains a serious weakness across all grades—proficiency ranges from just 7.8% in 6th grade to 21.8% in 7th grade, with SAT math at only 14.9% (state: 26.5%). In contrast, Haas Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Michigan elementary schools, with its ranking dropping to the 13th percentile in 2024-2025. Elementary math proficiency is particularly concerning, falling as low as 7.27% in 5th grade, while ELA proficiency hovers around 22-27%.
The most pressing district-wide issue is chronic absenteeism—nearly 40% of students at both schools miss school regularly, compared to 27.9% statewide. This likely drives the high dropout rate (13.1% vs. 7.1% statewide) and the erratic year-to-year test score swings that make single-year comparisons unreliable. Despite spending about $14,300 per student (competitive with state averages), results remain in the bottom quintile, raising questions about resource effectiveness. The high school's recent upward trajectory and strong upper-grade reading scores offer some hope, but the elementary school's persistent struggles suggest that foundational math and attendance challenges must be addressed first for sustainable improvement across the district.
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